Craft CMS vs django CMS
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted content management systems options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Craft CMS | django CMS |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 88 · Excellent | 93 · Excellent |
| Category | Content Management Systems | Content Management Systems |
| License | MIT | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | PHP | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,608 | ★ 10,670 |
| First released | 2013 | 2009 |
| Replaces | WordPress, Sitecore | Adobe Experience Manager, Sitecore |
What are Craft CMS and django CMS?
Craft CMS
Craft CMS is a content management system focused on giving developers and designers complete control over content structure and markup. The core product is open source with optional commercial editions.
- Flexible content modeling
- Twig templating
- GraphQL API
- Plugin store
django CMS
django CMS is an open-source content management system built on Python's Django framework. It offers front-end editing, a plugin architecture, and strong multilingual support for enterprise sites.
- Front-end editing
- Plugin-based content
- Strong multilingual support
- Django ecosystem integration
Craft CMS vs django CMS: key differences
Craft CMS is written in PHP, while django CMS is built with Python. Licensing differs — MIT for Craft CMS versus BSD-3-Clause for django CMS. Craft CMS is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for django CMS. Django CMS is the more established project (first released 2009), while Craft CMS arrived in 2013. Django CMS has the considerably larger community, at 10,670 GitHub stars versus 3,608.
Why pick each one
Choose Craft CMS if…
- Excellent for bespoke sites
- Clean control panel
Watch out for
- Pro edition is paid
- Not ideal for non-developers
Choose django CMS if…
- Great for Python teams
- Scalable enterprise architecture
Watch out for
- Requires Django knowledge
- More setup than PHP CMSes
Frequently asked questions
Is Craft CMS or django CMS better?
Neither is universally better. django CMS has the larger community, while Craft CMS is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Craft CMS and django CMS free and open-source?
Yes. Craft CMS is licensed under MIT and django CMS under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Craft CMS and django CMS with Docker?
Craft CMS: yes. django CMS: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Craft CMS or django CMS?
Craft CMS has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for django CMS. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.